UTILITIES: The story behind NRG Energy’s shake-up involves hesitant investors and friction over the company’s direction. (EnergyWire)

CLEAN ENERGY:
• A group of Las Vegas casinos “are looking at leaving the power system” and producing or procuring clean energy on their own. (The Guardian)
• A new report ranks the top corporate investments in clean energy. (National Geographic)

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OVERSIGHT: Arizona lawmakers advance a bill that would allow the newest member of the state’s Corporation Commission to vote on utility cases despite a conflict of interest. (Prescott Daily Courier)

SUPREME COURT: Two potential Obama appointees have experience in deciding environmental regulatory cases. (Greenwire)

CLIMATE:
• Three members of Congress seek an investigation of whether Shell Oil violated securities laws by failing to disclose climate risks to investors. (InsideClimate News)
• Low oil prices are jeopardizing the economics of oilfield carbon sequestration projects. (Scientific American)

SOLAR:
• Pennsylvania has reached the solar target in its renewable energy standard five years early. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• Three of Florida’s seven Supreme Court justices question the clarity and purpose of the proposed constitutional amendment backed by utilities. (Miami Herald)
• Utah lawmakers approve a bill that critics say will harm the rooftop solar market. (Associated Press)
• Developers kill a New Jersey solar project amid opposition from neighbors over aesthetics. (NJ.com)
• The Bureau of Land Management introduces new guidelines to speed solar development on public lands. (PV Magazine)
• Vivint Solar terminates its proposed $2.2 billion merger with SunEdison. (Reuters)

COAL:
• Wyoming has largely avoided major coal mining layoffs, but that may be about to change. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• JPMorgan will no longer finance new coal mines, or coal plants in “high income” countries. (Bloomberg)
• The convicted ex-CEO of Massey Energy tied to a deadly 2010 West Virginia mine explosion is fighting $28 million in restitution sought by prosecutors. (Associated Press)
• The Obama administration rejects a request from William Koch for $14 million in royalty refunds from a defunct Colorado coal mine. (Reuters)

OIL AND GAS:
• In legal briefs, states and industry groups say the federal government doesn’t have the authority to regulate fracking. (The Hill)
• More than 50 protesters are arrested for blocking the entrance to a proposed natural gas storage facility in New York. (Public News Service)
• Oklahoma expands the area covered in an effort to reduce earthquakes caused by wastewater disposal wells. (Oklahoman)
• An effort by neighbors to get idled gas wells plugged near a Los Angeles school backfires. (Los Angeles Times)

NUCLEAR:
• Duke Energy says it may not know for weeks what caused a fire at a South Carolina nuclear plant, part of which remains shut down. (Independent Mail)
• A new study confirms a Florida nuclear plant is leaking radioactive elements into Biscayne Bay. (Miami Herald)

GRID: Grid operator MISO could have a limited set of market rules for energy storage as early as 2017. (RTO Insider)

EFFICIENCY:
• How a rural New Hampshire cooperative is emerging as a leader on demand response. (Concord Monitor)
• The Minnesota Department of Transportation is converting streetlights across the state to LEDs to save money and reduce energy use. (CBS Minnesota)

TECHNOLOGY: MIT researchers develop a technique to convert smokestack emissions into fuel. (The Guardian)

COMMENTARY: “The potential for offshore wind is virtually limitless.” (Huffington Post)